Name: Baked Sea Bass
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 1 whole sea bass, about 600 g, gutted and scaled; 1 lemon, half sliced and half in wedges; 6 sprigs thyme; 2 tbsp olive oil; ½ tsp salt; ¼ tsp black pepper; 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced; 2 garlic cloves, sliced

Baked Sea Bass

Whole or fillet sea bass baked at 200C with lemon, thyme and olive oil for 20 minutes until the flesh is white and just flaking.

30 min total Serves 2 servings Easy

Why This Baked Sea Bass Recipe Works

Sea bass fillets, a lemon, a few thyme sprigs: three things, and about thirty minutes. Sea bass has a delicate, slightly sweet flavour, and the best way to cook it is simply, with lemon, olive oil and herbs doing the supporting work.

One whole fish of about 600 g serves two. Ask the fishmonger to gut and scale it. Slash the sides in three places with a sharp knife, which lets the heat reach the thickest parts and the lemon and herbs penetrate. Stuff the cavity with lemon slices and thyme.

Bake on a bed of sliced fennel or lemon. This lifts the fish off the tray so that the heat circulates and the bottom does not stew in its own juices. It also gives you a flavoured base to serve it on.

The fish is ready when the flesh near the backbone has turned white and opaque, and the eye has gone pale. Insert a knife near the backbone and check. Rest for 3 minutes, then lift the fillets off the bone with a spoon and fork and drizzle with the juices from the tray.

Baked Sea Bass, Step by Step

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Heat the oven to 200°C / 390°F. Spread the fennel and garlic on a baking tray and drizzle with half of the olive oil.
Slash the sea bass three times on each side. Season inside and out with the salt and pepper.
Fill the cavity with the lemon slices and thyme. Place the fish on the fennel and drizzle with the rest of the oil.
Bake for 20 minutes until the flesh near the backbone is white and opaque.
Rest for 3 minutes, then lift off the fillets and serve with the fennel and lemon wedges.

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Tips for Making Baked Sea Bass

Slash the skin so the heat reaches the middle.
Check near the backbone for doneness.
Use fillets at 12 minutes if you prefer.

Ingredient Swaps

An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

What Goes With Baked Sea Bass

New potatoes
Green beans
Tomato salad
Crusty bread

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Crumpets, Air Fryer Jacket Potato, Braised Red Cabbage.

Leftovers and Storage

Best eaten fresh. Keeps for 1 day in the fridge.

What's in a Serving

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.

464Calories

57gProtein

14gCarbs

20gFat

6gFibre

5gSugar

850mgSodium

Dairy-Free Gluten-Free High-Protein Low-Carb Keto No Added Sugar

Baked Sea Bass

Baked Sea Bass, Step by Step

Tips for Making Baked Sea Bass

Ingredient Swaps

What Goes With Baked Sea Bass

Leftovers and Storage

What's in a Serving

Your notes on this recipe

Cooked this? Keep a note for next time

Baked Sea Bass, Step by Step

Tips for Making Baked Sea Bass

Ingredient Swaps

What Goes With Baked Sea Bass

Leftovers and Storage

What's in a Serving

Your notes on this recipe

Cooked this? Keep a note for next time

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